Founder coaching · built from experience

Seven Figures, built around a full time career and three kids at home

I spent 10 years in EMS and the Fire Service, serving the greater San Diego area before founding Frontline Optics, a First Responder focused DTC eyewear brand. While still on the job I was able to grow the brand to 7 figures. Now I help early founders build systems to launch their own brands into sustainable businesses.

As Featured In
CBS 8 San Diego
U.S. Business News
San Diego Business Journal
Sports Illustrated
Times of San Diego
The Side Hustle Show
SD Voyager Magazine
Medium Magazine
Good Business San Diego
CBS 8 San Diego
U.S. Business News
San Diego Business Journal
Sports Illustrated
Times of San Diego
The Side Hustle Show
SD Voyager Magazine
Medium Magazine
Good Business San Diego

I'm Mike Ettenberg.

FOUNDER, FRONTLINE OPTICS | FORMER FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC

I'm Mike Ettenberg, founder of Frontline Optics, an eyewear brand I built while working full time as a firefighter/paramedic in the greater San Diego area. I grew it into a seven figure business while juggling a full time career, a growing company, and staying present with my wife and three young kids.I've since retired from the fire service and now run Frontline Optics full time.Throughout that whole process, I wished I'd had someone who'd actually done it to turn to. So I decided to become that resource for other founders, teaching the same systems that took a bootstrapped business and turned it into a real brand.

7-Figure

Built Off The Clock

10 Yrs

EMS & Fire Service

20-30 Hrs/Week

Proof the Systems Work

Who this is for

Are you an early founder trying to grow your business while still juggling a full time job and everything else on your plate? I help founders build repeatable systems, run effective Meta advertising, and forecast ahead so their business can grow from a side hustle into something that actually pays.If you're serious about the work, understand there's no shortcut around putting in real time and effort, and want someone who has actually done it, I'd like to help. I grew a seven figure ecommerce business while working full time as a firefighter with a wife and three kids at home, and I can walk you through exactly how.

This isn't for everyone, and that's the point.

  • You're building a real brand, not chasing a shortcut

  • You're stretched thin across a job, a family, and a business

  • You want documented systems, not one-off advice

  • You're ready to put in the work, on top of everything else

What I can
offer

Three pillars, built and stress-tested on my own business before I ever taught them.

Business Systems

Documented, repeatable processes that keep your business consistent as it grows, so you're not reinventing the wheel or wasting time on tasks that should already run themselves.

Forecasting

When will you run out of inventory? How much should you actually be ordering? When will you run out of cash? I'll help you get ahead of these questions before they become emergencies.

Paid META Advertising

The single biggest driver of growth for most DTC brands. I'll help you identify your ideal customer, understand their pain points, and build a paid media system that puts your brand in front of the right people.

testimonials

★★★★★
“

Mike was a godsend for my business. I was struggling to get traction with some of my flows and Mike really gave me clean direction. He clearly knew what he was doing because I saw a big jump in my ecomm sales. A lot of us small businesses are sitting on gold mines but don’t know how to mine. That’s where Mike comes in and will flip your strategy to leverage your potential exponentially! Thanks Mike!

T. Williams

Los Angeles - Williams Key, Inc.

★★★★★
“

I came to Mike 99% dependent on Amazon with zero real strategy for Meta ads. In one session he reframed the whole approach: stop overthinking audience targeting and let broad reach plus strong creative do the work, track contribution margin instead of vanity metrics, and stop reacting to daily ad noise. We built out a full campaign structure from scratch, budget, creative strategy, tracking, the works, and I finally have a system I understand instead of just guessing. If you’re a founder trying to figure out Meta ads without an agency retainer, Mike gets you there fast.

Yarden

Los Angeles, CA - DTC Health & Wellness

★★★★★
“

Working with Mike completely changed the trajectory of our Meta ads. He helped me set up and run campaigns back in January, and since implementing his advice, our website revenue increased by 108% and orders grew by 97%. He's continued to support us all year, introducing me to analytics tools and insights that have made a real difference in how we make decisions. If you're looking for someone who actually knows Meta ads and cares about your results, Mike is the person to call.

Danielle

Founder, The Crystal Elephant

Ready to build the systems
behind the brand?

Book a free 15-minute discovery call. We'll talk through where your business is today and whether the monthly 1:1 coaching program is the right fit.

© 2026 Ettenberg Consulting

San Diego, CA